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Boynton cops cleared in beating of unarmed man laud convicted officer

Boynton Beach police officer Mike Brown (blue shirt) waits for a ride from the Federal Courthouse after being found guilty of using excessive force three years ago in beating an unarmed man who was a passenger in a car that had led police on a high-speed chase that left an officer injured. Brown was found not guilty of trying to cover the beating up by a federal jury at the Federal Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida on November 9, 2017. (Allen Eyestone / The Palm Beach Post)

The two former officers and roughly two dozen friends, family and fellow cops remained in the courtroom for nearly an hour after the verdict was announced as U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg researched the law to determine whether Brown, 48, should be immediately jailed or allowed to remain free on bond until he is sentenced.

Ultimately, Rosenberg ruled that Brown, who lost his wife last year, is raising a 9-year-old son who is still devastated by his mother’s unexpected death and also cares for his ailing 72-year-old mother, could be sent home. While Brown remained stoic, his college-age daughter looked on, weeping. His 22-year-old son is on active duty in the U.S. Navy and not expected home until late December.

Attorney Bruce Reinhart, who represents Brown, convinced Rosenberg that Boynton’s Officer of the Year in 2013 isn’t a flight-risk and is not a danger to the community. “Even the evidence in this case demonstrates one minute and 40 seconds of behavior” in an otherwise upstanding career, he argued, referring to the beating of Jeffrey Braswell.

While jurors acquitted Brown of two of the more serious charges of falsifying records, he faces a maximum 15 years in prison. Brown and Reinhart declined comment as they left the courthouse, but the attorney indicated the verdict would be appealed.

Ryan, who was declared unfit for duty and fired last year after writing inflammatory emails questioning his supervisor’s competence, wiped tears from his eyes as he hugged his wife and supporters. Outside the courthouse, he voiced support for Brown.

“Mike Brown is one of the best police officers I’ve ever worked for,” he said. “He’s got a heart of gold. He’s served his community honorably.”

As for himself, Ryan said: “I just want to put it all behind me and go home and get on with my life, that’s all.”

Attorney Jonathan Wasserman, who represents Harris, voiced similar sentiments on behalf of his client, who left the police department about two years ago to open a gym. But, Wasserman added, any relief Harris felt was undoubtedly tempered by Brown’s conviction.

“I can imagine it’s sorrow for one of his brother police officers,” Wasserman said when asked to characterize Harris’ reaction to the verdict. Harris wasn’t available for comment.

The 12 jurors declined comment as they left the courtroom at about 6:30 p.m.

Much of the testimony during the weeklong trial concerned Brown’s actions. As a canine officer, Brown drove the lead car in a roughly 20-mile chase on Interstate 95 that began when a car driven by Bryon Harris clipped Officer Jeffrey Williams, who was throwing down stock sticks to stop the car from getting on the highway. Brown was also the first officer to reach the fleeing car that was finally stopped on South A Street in Lake Worth.

While the video shot from the PBSO helicopter captured some of the other officers as they dragged driver Harris and passengers Braswell and Ashley Hill out of the car and kicked and punched them, only the three involved with Braswell’s arrest were charged by federal prosecutors.

Longtime Boynton Beach police training officer Sgt. Sedrick Aiken and Officer Patrick Monteith, who was among the nine officers who pursued Harris’ car from Gateway Boulevard in Boynton to Okeechobee Boulevard in West Palm Beach and then to Lake Worth, testified that Brown violated departmental policy by ramming the fleeing car to bring it to a stop.

Further, both testified, instead of running toward the car, he and the other officers should have stayed by their vehicles and ordered the occupants to get out of the car with their hands up. By approaching the car with his gun drawn, Brown put himself and other officers at risk, Aiken testified.

“It created a crossfire situation between himself and his fellow officers,” he told jurors. “If the suspects fire and the cops return fire there’s a risk officers will shoot each other.”

Further, Monteith said, there was a key reason Braswell refused Brown’s orders to get out of the vehicle with his hands raised: He was confined by a seatbelt.

While the video showed Brown punching and kicking Braswell, he didn’t mention it in his initial reports. Likewise, Ryan didn’t initially say he kicked Braswell with his knee “three or four times” so he could put him in handcuffs. Harris didn’t report that he hit Braswell three times when Braswell was lying on the ground in handcuffs so he could make sure the cuffs were secure.

The officers added those details in subsequent reports after they learned about the PBSO video, prosecutors Susan Osborne and Donald Tunnage said.

Wasserman disputed that any of the three tried to cover-up their misdeeds. “They didn’t falsify records with the intent to deceive anybody,” he said after the verdict was announced. The jury agreed.

Reached later, Boynton Beach City Commissioner Joe Casello said he was disappointed by the verdict. “Obviously we can’t tolerate, or won’t tolerate, that type of behavior. It’s unacceptable,” he said.

Mayor Steven Grant said he hadn’t been following the trial. But he praised Chief Jeffrey Katz for asking the FBI to investigate the officers after realizing their initial reports didn’t jibe with the video. “I’m looking forward to turning the page at the Boynton Beach police department with Chief Katz at the helm,” Grant said.

Katz was seen leaving the courthouse but didn’t respond to later requests for comment.

In a prepared statement that was emailed to reporters, department spokeswoman Stephanie Slater said: “In light of the fact that there are additional court proceedings under way pertaining to the same 2014 incident, our only comment is that the men and women of the Boynton Beach Police Department remain committed to providing legally and ethically sound policing services, and that we will accept nothing less from those entrusted with this responsibility.”

And, the saga isn’t over.

While the jury deliberated the three officers’ fates, another jury was selected to consider charges against their supervisor, Sgt. Philip Antico. On Monday, the same prosecutors are going to try to convince the new jury to convict him of falsifying reports and obstruction of justice, claiming he helped the officers cover up their misdeeds. Each of the charges carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to clarify that Ronald Ryan reported that he kicked Braswell with his knee “three or four” times, a technique police call a “knee strike.”